


Volans

by Enchantable



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Confrontations, Drama & Romance, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 19:35:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19774969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enchantable/pseuds/Enchantable
Summary: “What do you care?” He demands.“Maria and I are friends,” Alex says in an infuriatingly calm tone.“Yeah and what are you and I?” Michael challenges.





	Volans

**Author's Note:**

> Original Prompt: Alex outwardly showing not to care about Michael/Maria and causing that to blow up?

“Does she know?”

Michael stiffens at the quiet question. When he turns, Alex is standing there with an unreadable expression. No, not unreadable. Alex is standing there and he’s pissed off. Michael bristles at the question, the tone, everything. Alex takes in his reaction and doesn’t fucking move because Alex is Alex. Actually he does move, he takes a step towards him. When he said he was done walking away, this is not what Michael had in mind.

“What do you care?” He demands.

“Maria and I are friends,” he says in an infuriatingly calm tone.

“Yeah and what are you and I?” Michael challenges.

Obviously he regrets the words instantly. He doesn’t want the answer to that. He doesn’t even know himself. But his temper gets the best of him and of course they come out like a challenge with none of the fear he feels at saying them. Alex has the audacity to shrug before Michael can tell him to forget it.

“I’m not sure,” he says and he’s calm, “but I care about you both.”

How the fuck he can say that is beyond Michael. Michael’s heart has always been on his sleeve, always exposed. The words ‘I don’t know how you feel about me’ have never really been uttered around him. When he’s mad, it’s obvious. When he’s sad, it’s the same. Max never doubted that Michael was pissed off and managed to be so continuously for a decade. He never doubted that deep, deep down Michael loved him either. Alex says the words and Michael’s brain seems to short out.

“Bullshit,” Michael snaps. Alex raises his eyebrow, “you left, remember? I’m not just talking about before. You were right here and you were still gone. Don’t say you care about me now just because I’m with someone else.”

Alex frowns and then immediately goes back to his hardened expression. Michael sets his jaw. The thing is that Alex not walking away means he has to sit there and see him have that expression. He doesn’t have the buffer of Alex going to war. He doesn’t have the buffer of ‘if he stayed things would be different’. Alex is staying. Things aren’t different. Alex takes another step forward and whereas Michael recoiling might have slowed him at one point, now it doesn’t. 

“That someone else is my friend,” he says calmly, “I care about her.”

“I care about her too!” He argues.

“Then why are you lying?”

Michael glares and looks away. Alex being able to cut through him is bullshit, especially when he can’t even figure out how Alex feels. Michael hates Alex’s unique ability to see through him and to blindside him. They aren’t even together, have barely spoken past pleasantries and yet somehow Alex knows. He knows and he’s not pleased. Alex loves his friends, he cares about them deeply. Michael at least knows that much. If he’s being honest he cares about Alex too, but he’s not sure if it’s a mutual feeling. Well fuck it, he thinks. The devil may care but he doesn’t have to.

“What are you gonna do, Private,” he says, “tell her? If you were jealous you could’ve just said so.”

He watches Alex’s face for any tell tail signs he’s hit a nerve, but all he sees is the cool, flat expression Alex shows him. He finds a new low when Alex takes a step forward and he lets his eyes dart to Alex’s prosthetic leg. No tells there though. And when he looks back to Alex’s face, he knows Alex is aware and just doesn’t care.

“I’ve been watching you stumble out of the Pony with a new girl on your arm every night for months,” Alex tells him, flaying him with zero effort, ”the only difference now is that you’re doing it with my friend.”

“Right,” Michael says through gritted teeth. Alex didn’t care then, he doesn’t care now, “I forgot, you wanted to leave me,” he says. 

Alex nods. Faces his flaws and his mistakes and his choices. God help him, Michael can’t tell which this is. Alex somehow just stares down all three. The fact that he can still say he’s Maria’s friend while also not being able to say that he knows what he and Michael are feels like salt in the wound. 

“But I guess since this is your friend,” Michael says, “that’s what makes the difference,” he smirks, “so you’ve got no problem with your friend fucking your ex?” 

“We didn’t date,” Alex points out.

“And whose fucking fault is that?!” Michael roars back at him.

“Mine,” Alex says. 

It’s funny, Michael thinks, he really thought that Jesse Manes was going to be the big boss in his ability to control his power. He really did. Not that it would be Alex and his smart fucking mouth. Michael cycles through everything that usually works, though honestly just seeing Alex is usually enough. It’s not this time. He picks some dumpster he sees far off and focuses on that, shoving it with a grating sound. But at least it doesn’t set off as many car alarms. He looks back at Alex but while Alex is usually so good at reading his mind, he doesn’t seem to get the warning. He just stands there and watches. It grates at Michael, even Max used to know when to back the hell off. Alex just stands there like Michael’s some drunk upset chick outside the Pony. Like he doesn’t have a fucking point or a right to be upset. 

“You’re a dick,” he snarls at Alex.

“Maria is going through enough shit right now, she doesn’t need someone she can depend on lying to her.”

The anger deflates as he stares at Alex. Or maybe he just gets so angry it bypasses anger and becomes something else. This is what Alex does. He plays things close to the chest. He speaks in a language that doesn’t translate. It’s actually just about the only time that Michael feels like he comes from another world. This is history repeating itself all over again, it’s watching the car drive away to bases and Alex’s back turning in bars. He’s so sick of this song and dance. He shakes his head and looks at him. 

“Stay out of it, Alex,” he says. Alex presses his lips together, “seriously, my relationships are none of your business.”

“Then tell her,” Alex says.

“Or what?” Michael challenges, “you will?” Alex’s eyes narrow and holy shit, is he being threatened. He feels sick, this was always the reason not to tell. What if you break up? “Alex—“

“No! No of course not,” Alex says, whatever tone Michael took breaking through, “I wouldn’t do that.” For the first time the cool look on his face breaks to something almost frantic, “you know I wouldn’t do that,” he says. Michael looks away, “Michael.”

“Stay out of it, Alex,” Michael says, around the pain in his chest. Is this what having a broken heart feels like?

“Tell me you know I wouldn’t do that,” Alex says, “I wouldn’t tell anyone, not even her.”

“Just—“ the frustration grates against the pain, “I gotta go,” he shakes his head and goes towards the door, giving Alex a wide margin, “I don’t know,” he says finally, turning towards him, “I can’t tell you that.”

Alex closes his eyes briefly and when he opens them it’s that cool facade for a moment before he inhales sharply. Michael feels his stomach drop. When he turns Maria is standing there, infuriatingly calmly with her arms folded. She peers out and takes in the dumpster, Alex and him. Apparently she speaks Alex a lot better than he does because she stares him down for a moment before Alex turns to go. Maria folds her arms, fixing him with an even look.

“Tell me what?”


End file.
